CERTIFIED POOL OPERATOR HANDBOOK PRACTICE TEST WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
1. You operate a 120,000-gallon pool, and upon performing your hourly chemical tests you
observe the following readings: Total Available Chlorine reading is 1.6 free available chlorine
reading is 1.5 pH is 7.4 Your supervising lifeguard has just informed you that you have had a
fecal incident occur; a solid stool has been discharged into the pool. According to the
Centers for Disease Control, as the CPO, you should do the following: -ANSWER-clear the
pool and raise the free chlorine to 2 ppm
2. Assuming that your local health department requires you to raise the free chlorine to 5
ppm, how much sodium hypochlorite would be needed to raise the free chlorine in the pool
in question #1 to that level? -ANSWER-3.5 gallons
3. You are the CPO for an indoor health club pool. The facility manager informs you that he is
receiving complaints about a strong chlorine odor in the pool area, and several members
have complained of eye irritation. The most likely cause of these complaints is: -ANSWER-
high levels of chloramines in the pool
4. To determine the level of chloramines in the water, you should do which of the following?
-ANSWER-test for total chlorine and free chlorine, then subtract the free chlorine number
from the total chlorine
5. You operate a 45,000 gallon indoor pool, and upon doing your hourly chemical tests you
observe the following readings:Total available chlorine is 2.2 Free available chlorine is 1.4
and pH is 7.6 What is the level of chloramines in this pool? -ANSWER-0.8
7. You are the operator of a 330,000 gallon outdoor pool. Your local health department
requires you to perform a water balance calculation once monthly. Upon performing the
water tests necessary to perform this calculation, you observe the following readings in your
pool: Total alkalinity is 50 ppm pH is 7.2 Calcium Hardness is 150 ppm Temperature is 76
degrees F Total Dissolved Solids is 500 ppm Using these readings, what is the Saturation
Index for this pool? -ANSWER--0.8
, 8. To adjust the tested Total Alkalinity in the pool in question #7 to an acceptable level,
which chemical would be most appropriate? -ANSWER-Sodium Bicarbonate
9. To adjust the tested pH in the pool in question #7 to an acceptable level, which chemical
would be most appropriate? -ANSWER-Sodium Carbonate
10. You are the CPO for a 28,000 gallon hotel pool. You perform a water balance chemical
test, and to your surprise, the Calcium Hardness is only 100 ppm. How much calcium
chloride (77%) would be required to increase this to 400 ppm?" -ANSWER-100.8 lbs.
11. You are the CPO for a 100 foot long, 50 foot wide country club pool. The average depth
of this pool is 7 feet. You return to the pool on Monday morning, after a rare weekend off,
and find that the auto-fill feature has failed to work, and the pool water level is four inches
too low. How many gallons of water must be added to return the water to the proper level? -
ANSWER-12,495 gallons
12. You are the operator of a 3,000 gallon health club spa, which has an average of 100 users
per day. According to the CPO Handbook, how often should the water in this spa be
changed? -ANSWER-10 days
"13. You are the CPO for a large municipal swimming pool. This pool has a volume of
560,000 gallons of water,and has an average daily bather load of 1300 people. The pool is
operated using high rate pressure sand filters. How often should you backwash the filters?" -
ANSWER-When the influent and effluent gauges are 10 to 20 psi apart
14. In testing for Chlorine/Bromine in a commercial pool, DPD is preferred over OTO
because: -ANSWER-OTO only tests for Total Chlorine
15. Safety and rescue equipment should always be: -ANSWER-Kept easily accessible around
the pool
16. Which type of filter system will remove the smallest micron particles? -ANSWER-
diatomaceous earth
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
1. You operate a 120,000-gallon pool, and upon performing your hourly chemical tests you
observe the following readings: Total Available Chlorine reading is 1.6 free available chlorine
reading is 1.5 pH is 7.4 Your supervising lifeguard has just informed you that you have had a
fecal incident occur; a solid stool has been discharged into the pool. According to the
Centers for Disease Control, as the CPO, you should do the following: -ANSWER-clear the
pool and raise the free chlorine to 2 ppm
2. Assuming that your local health department requires you to raise the free chlorine to 5
ppm, how much sodium hypochlorite would be needed to raise the free chlorine in the pool
in question #1 to that level? -ANSWER-3.5 gallons
3. You are the CPO for an indoor health club pool. The facility manager informs you that he is
receiving complaints about a strong chlorine odor in the pool area, and several members
have complained of eye irritation. The most likely cause of these complaints is: -ANSWER-
high levels of chloramines in the pool
4. To determine the level of chloramines in the water, you should do which of the following?
-ANSWER-test for total chlorine and free chlorine, then subtract the free chlorine number
from the total chlorine
5. You operate a 45,000 gallon indoor pool, and upon doing your hourly chemical tests you
observe the following readings:Total available chlorine is 2.2 Free available chlorine is 1.4
and pH is 7.6 What is the level of chloramines in this pool? -ANSWER-0.8
7. You are the operator of a 330,000 gallon outdoor pool. Your local health department
requires you to perform a water balance calculation once monthly. Upon performing the
water tests necessary to perform this calculation, you observe the following readings in your
pool: Total alkalinity is 50 ppm pH is 7.2 Calcium Hardness is 150 ppm Temperature is 76
degrees F Total Dissolved Solids is 500 ppm Using these readings, what is the Saturation
Index for this pool? -ANSWER--0.8
, 8. To adjust the tested Total Alkalinity in the pool in question #7 to an acceptable level,
which chemical would be most appropriate? -ANSWER-Sodium Bicarbonate
9. To adjust the tested pH in the pool in question #7 to an acceptable level, which chemical
would be most appropriate? -ANSWER-Sodium Carbonate
10. You are the CPO for a 28,000 gallon hotel pool. You perform a water balance chemical
test, and to your surprise, the Calcium Hardness is only 100 ppm. How much calcium
chloride (77%) would be required to increase this to 400 ppm?" -ANSWER-100.8 lbs.
11. You are the CPO for a 100 foot long, 50 foot wide country club pool. The average depth
of this pool is 7 feet. You return to the pool on Monday morning, after a rare weekend off,
and find that the auto-fill feature has failed to work, and the pool water level is four inches
too low. How many gallons of water must be added to return the water to the proper level? -
ANSWER-12,495 gallons
12. You are the operator of a 3,000 gallon health club spa, which has an average of 100 users
per day. According to the CPO Handbook, how often should the water in this spa be
changed? -ANSWER-10 days
"13. You are the CPO for a large municipal swimming pool. This pool has a volume of
560,000 gallons of water,and has an average daily bather load of 1300 people. The pool is
operated using high rate pressure sand filters. How often should you backwash the filters?" -
ANSWER-When the influent and effluent gauges are 10 to 20 psi apart
14. In testing for Chlorine/Bromine in a commercial pool, DPD is preferred over OTO
because: -ANSWER-OTO only tests for Total Chlorine
15. Safety and rescue equipment should always be: -ANSWER-Kept easily accessible around
the pool
16. Which type of filter system will remove the smallest micron particles? -ANSWER-
diatomaceous earth
